The Short of It

The Lowdown

Jessica Horne says her 12-year-old son, Hayden, was thrilled with his new, self-balancing, $300 lithium battery-powered electric scooter. She writes on GoFundMe, "When it ran out of charge, he brought it inside, put it on the charger. As I walked past his room I saw it began to shoot sparks & within seconds it was in flames, within minutes the entire room was in flames.[sic]"

She goes on to say, "We lost our home to this horrific incident and all that we own. On top of all of this, I found out, the house we were renting has no insurance."

The hoverboard was purchased via "Fit Turbo" on Amazon, and it isn't the first time an accident like this one has happened. Timothy Cade of Florida posted a video of a similar experience. He says, "Batteries started shooting out of it. I think it was the batteries that blew up ... Imagine if that was in your house."

Cade also bought his hoverboard on Amazon. Meanwhile, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that eight people have suffered injuries requiring emergency room care after falling off hoverboards. But no injuries from fires have been officially reported.

The Upshot

"Reality hasn't even fully set in, but We lost everything except each other! [sic]" the heartbroken Horne writes. If you'd like to help the Horne family rebuild what they lost, visit their GoFundMe page.